U.S. Catholic bishops plan united front

Reuters

By Stephanie Simon

ATLANTA, June 13 (Reuters) - U.S. Catholic bishops,concerned that the American public perceives the church asdivided and weak, vowed on Wednesday to present a united frontduring a "Fortnight to Freedom" celebration of religious libertythat begins next week in dioceses across the nation.

Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore, who has been leadingthe campaign, told bishops assembled for a national conventionin Atlanta that Fortnight should focus on the principles ofreligious freedom and should not dwell on "parties, candidatesor elections."

Yet the bishops did not repudiate the sharp, and oftensharply partisan, rhetoric that has characterized the religiousliberty campaign, which church officials launched earlier thisyear in protest of an Obama Administration regulation requiringall health insurance plans to provide free birth control.

One bishop, however, did urge his colleagues to refrain fromreferring to the 2010 federal health-care law as "Obamacare,"since that is a term used mostly by opponents of the presidentand could be seen as overly partisan.

The church teaches that artificial contraception is a sin.Bishops protesting the mandate have compared Obama with Hitlerand Stalin and accused his administration of strangling theCatholic Church.

"UNBELIEVABLE AND EGREGIOUS"

Leading up to the meeting, some liberal Catholics hadexpressed hope that at least a handful of bishops would stand upto urge the assembly to moderate its rhetoric and take pains toavoid being seen as excessively partisan.

Bishop Stephen Blaire seemed to take a step in thatdirection in an interview with a Jesuit magazine in late May inwhich he called for a "broader discussion" among bishops toensure that their message of religious liberty was not"co-opted" by groups "very far to the right."

On Wednesday, however, Blaire made a point of praising thereligious liberty campaign and calling the federal contraceptivemandate an "unbelievable and egregious" intrusion on the rightof the church and its institutions to follow their consciences.He led a motion, which passed unanimously, to reaffirm adocument calling for Catholics to unite behind the religiousfreedom campaign.

Even bishops who have called for more dialogue with theObama Administration said this was not an issue on which theycould seek reconciliation. "These are clear examples of thefreedom of religion being restricted," said Bishop MichaelSheehan of Santa Fe.

Several dozen Catholic institutions, including 13 dioceses,have filed lawsuits seeking to overturn the contraceptivemandate. The issue could become moot if the U.S. Supreme Courtoverturns the Obama health-care law in a ruling expected laterthis month, but the mandate could also survive if the law, orsome portions of it, are upheld.

The Obama administration exempted religious institutionsfrom the contraceptive mandate but used a very narrowdefinition: Only churches and groups that primarily serve andemploy people of just one faith can qualify.

That means most Catholic hospitals, universities andcharities cannot qualify, as they serve the public at large. Theadministration sought to accommodate those institutions bygiving them an extra year to comply with the mandate, untilAugust 2013, and by saying they would not have to pay for thecontraceptive coverage themselves; their insurance companieswould pick up the tab.

The compromise satisfied some Catholics, mostly on the left,but the bishops remain implacably opposed. They want anexemption not just for all religious institutions of any typebut also for any individual business owner who objects tocontraceptive coverage on moral or religious grounds, even if heruns an entirely secular business.

MUSIC AND CAR MAGNETS

Archbishop Lori made clear the bishops would not back downfrom that principle. "Defending religious freedom is not a walkin the park," he said in a speech, noting that the bishops hadcome in for criticism and even derision for their views. "It maybe tempting to get discouraged, to second-guess the effort andto soft-pedal our message, but in fact I would say this shouldencourage us to do exactly the opposite."

The bishops said they hoped to enlist prominent layCatholics to make statements and appear in promotions supportingthe religious liberty campaign, to combat what they said was anerroneous public impression that the rest of the faithful do notstand with them on this issue.

Sister Simone Campbell, a nun who runs a social justiceadvocacy group and has clashed with the bishops frequently, saidshe found the "scripted, stilted" tone of the meetingdisappointing and unproductive. "I'm really concerned that ourleadership seems to think there is no room for dialogue in ourdiscernment of the way forward," she said. "The bishops don'tunderstand what it is to build a coalition in a democraticculture."

The Fortnight for Freedom campaign runs from June 21 to July4. It features a variety of events designed to appeal toCatholics of all ages, from a Twitter campaign to a musicfestival at a winery to traditional Masses to the distributionof 10,000 car magnets promoting religious freedom. Two Kansasbishops have organized rallies in front of government buildingsin Topeka and Wichita. Other dioceses are sponsoring conferencesand public prayer. Bishops are also encouraging Catholics topray briefly for religious liberty each day at 3 p.m. in acampaign they dub "A Minute to Win It!"

The campaign and lawsuits are being funded in part bydonations from Catholic organizations including Knights ofColumbus and the Order of Malta and the Catholic publication OurSunday Visitor, Lori said.

At the conclusion of the all-day meeting, Cardinal TimothyDolan showed off the ultimate Fortnight to Freedom fan gear: ared foam hand, the type often waved at sports events, printedwith the Fortnight to Freedom logo and the message "#1 Freedom."